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The future King and Queen danced with people from the Central American country’s minority Garifuna community, gyrating on a makeshift dance floor during a visit to the beachfront village of Hopkins on the second day of their Caribbean tour.

Laura Cacho, 57, danced with William and said afterwards: “That was so exciting. A dream come true.

“It was fun he was a good dancer and I told him he got the Garifuna culture in him.

“He did the punta dance better than me.

“He shook his waist to the music. He had beautiful rhythm. It was a pleasure for me.

“Kate was excellent as well and definitely has Garifuna culture in her.

“They were shaking their waists like nobody’s business.”

But the second in line to the throne, 39, and Kate, 40, had to work for their sweet treats. 

The Duchess tried her hand at grinding nibs, broken-up made cocoa beans, backbreaking work traditionally performed by the women in rural communities during their visit to the Che ‘il chocolate farm. 

It was a hasty replacement for a visit to another chocolate farm that was cancelled after local villagers protested over a land dispute and “colonialism”.

As Kate watched her husband pounding away with a mortar and pestle made from volcanic rock she said: “The smell of the chocolate is amazing.” 

William even joked about giving up his day job as a working royal, asking Julio Saqui owner of the family run chocolate firm “Do you take apprentices? Can I come and work for you it’s my kind of thing.” 

The couple’s eyes lit up when they saw chocolate fountains – dipping tortilla chips into the brown sticky liquid – and they tried hot chocolate made from the organic farm with Kate confessing: “I think our children will be very jealous.” 

The Saqui family are from Belize’s Maya community where the cocoa bean is revered and has been an integral part of their culture for thousands of years.

It was served to royalty in centuries past and at one point was worth more than gold to the Maya people who still serve it to special guests.

The couple began their tour of the chocolate production at the firm’s 10-acre farm, one of a number of plots they cultivate, and were shown the cocoa trees laden with fruit, with Kate asking Narcisio Saqui, brother of Julio, “Do you harvest them all year round?”

Narcisio took the couple out of the blistering sun and sat them down under a marquee and told them about the anti-oxidants and other important properties of cocoa and the duke exclaimed: “Are you saying chocolate is good for us?”

Speaking about the importance of the bean Mr Sarqui added: “It became currency in those days and was traded as cash – worth more than gold.”

When he took a club and broke open a cocoa pod, filled with white gooey seeds which need to be fermented, dried, roasted and ground to make chocolate – William looked surprised and said: “That’s not what I expected at all”.

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When the couple travelled later to Hopkins to meet the Garifuna community – the descendants of Africans and indigenous Carib people expelled from the island of St Vincent before settling in Central America – they soon found themselves pressganged onto the dance floor. 

They wowed the delighted crowd with their dance moves.

William, 39, gave a little shimmy after they were treated to a welcome dance in Hopkins, known as the country’s happiest village.

But it was Kate, 39, in a blue Tory Burch dress, who was first onto the dancefloor, cutting shapes with nine local school children from the Garifuna Cultural Centre.

William watched on as Kate stole the show before he began dancing with local organiser Laura Cacho.

They were soon holding hands and gyrating to the music as locals screamed in delight.

The royal couple were treated to dancing and food by the local Garifuna community on the Caribbean coast.

They were offered a plantain coconut broth called Hudutu and a sweet sava porridge called Sahau with Belizian celebrity chef Sean Kuylen.

They also spoke to a small group of marine conservation specialists to learn more about Belize’s pioneering record on ocean conservation. It has the world’s second largest reef.

Mamma G, also known as Joan Gloria, pastor of the National Garifuna Council, helped provide the dancing children, and said: “We welcome them both. It is an honour. We welcome everybody.

“We are the happiest village in Belize. Nobody who comes here is sad.

“We are about love, respect and welcoming people with open arms.”

Villagers welcomed the royal visit as a boon for the tourism industry. Casper Castille, 22, said: “This is a tremendous opportunity for us. This is an eye-opener for the rest of the world.”

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The royal couple also planted a Yellow Copperpod tree in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the reason for their eight-day tour of Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas.

UNESCO declared the Garifuna language, dance and music in Belize to be a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in 2001.

VIllagers in Indian Creek had forced the royal couple to change a planned visit yesterday after staging a protest and describing the visit as ‘colonialism’ and a ‘slap in the face’

They had condemned the Duke and Duchess for wanting to land a helicopter on a football field without permission before visiting a sustainable cocoa farm.

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